gives the most explicit affurance of the divine authority by which he fpake, in the manner following; and, therefore, we ought diligently to attend to what is written for our admonition. 6 Forfomuch as this people refuseth the waters of Shiloah that go foftly, and rejoice in Rezin and Remaliahs fon. Thefe words defcribe the criminal conduct which was the procuring cause of the judgments threatened in the following verfe.The perfons whose conduct is reprefented, are called this people, among whom Ifaiah exercifed his office as a prophet, to whom he was fent with the awful meffage here recorded. Both the kingdoms of Judah and Ifrael feem to be intended in the description contained in this verfe: the former charge was brought against Judah, who defpifed the waters of Shiloah; and the latter, againft the Ifraelites, who rejoiced in Remaliah's fon. The fin of Judah confifted in refufing the waters of Shiloah. Shiloah or Siloam was a fountain fituated on the weft fide of Jerufalem, toward the fouth-west cor ner, without the wall, remarkable for the excellence and abundance of its waters. From this fountain, was ter was conveyed, by different ftreams, into two pools within the city, for the ufe of the inhabitants; the one of which was called the Upper, and the other the Lower Pool. Thefe waters, gently gliding along the channels that were formed for conveying them to their different receptacles, afforded, in their progrefs, an agreeable emblem of the kingdom of David, which, though much reduced in ftrength, was preferved, by the blefling of God, and continued in the line of his family, notwithstanding all the efforts of its enemies. By the waters of Shiloah that run foftly, may be meant, in a figurative fenfe, the kingdom of the house of David, which was perpetuated, under the favour and protection of Jehovah, amidst the many hoftile attempts attempts that were employed for its deftruction. Be not surprised at this expofition, which accords with the interpretation of the angel, who informed the apostle John, The waters which thou faweft, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues The figure is juft and elegant. Waters confift of an aggregate body of liquid parts, which easily receive impreffion, and are carried hither and thither according to the force of the external caufes by which they are agitated and directed. In thefe and other refpects, they represent the collective body of the people, who are easily actuated and influenced by various external caufes, especially by their king, or chief magiftrate. Many of this people of whom the prophet speaks, contemning their native country, defpifing their prince, their form of government, and the advantages enjoyed by their metropolis, deftitute of faith and truft in God, were reduced to the difagreeable alternative, either of furrendering themselves into the hands of the confederate kings, or of committing themselves to the protection of Affyria, whofe affiftance they had already implored. By adopting either of thefe meafures, they discovered a criminal contempt of the Almighty, who was their king and defence, and who generoufly offered them his help, which they had wickedly rejected. Such was the fin and folly of Judah, which exposed them to the invafion threatened in the next verfes.The fin of Ifrael confifted in their rejoicing in Rezin and Remaliah's fon. The great bulk of the people were highly pleased with the treaty of alliance formed between these two princes; they approved of the plans they had formed, and the avaricious views which they avowed, in their intended enterprize, of rendering the kingdom of Judah a province of their empire. Elated with the good fortune which had attended the united efforts of the confederate princes, and trusting to the ftrength of the com * Rev. xvii. 15. bined armies, they doubted not the fuccefs of the expedition, and were already joyful in the profpect of victory. By this very culpable behaviour, they juftly expofed themselves to the dread displeasure and ven geance of that God, whofe beloved land they had prefumptuously confpired to invade and defolate.Hence let us be inftructed highly to value and improve the important advantages with which we are favoured in this happy land, under the best form of human government, administered by the beft of kings. Whilft we carefully avoid trufting in man, and making flesh our arm, let us ever be folicitous to experience the happiness of those who have the God of Jacob for their help, whofe hope is in the Lord their God*. 7 Now therefore behold, the LORD bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, ftrong and many, even the king of Affyria, and all his glory and he fhall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks. Upon people of the above defcription, God, to whom vengeance belongeth, threatens, by the pro phet, to execute judgments correfponding to the crimes they had committed.By the river here fpoken of, may be meant the Euphrates, which is fometimes called the Great River, as it was the greatest with which the Ifraelites were acquainted, though there are larger rivers in the world, fuch as the Ganges, the Danube, and fome others. Its waters were strong and many: they ran with great violence and rapidity from the mountains of Armenia, cfpecially at the feafons in which the fnow melted; they foon became very deep, and fpread themfelves to a great breadth.In the following part of the verfe, the prophet explains this figure; and teaches us, that by the waters of the river, were meant the king of Affyria, and all his glory. The glory of the king of Affyria confifted in the very numerous and welldifciplined troops which he commanded, and could march against his enemies. According to the obfervation of the wife man, In the multitude of people is the king's honour. Much more, however, is included in the expreffion, All his glory. Eastern kings and princes, when they went forth anciently on great expeditions, ufed to carry along with them their wife counsellors, their renowned heroes, their nobles, and great men, as their attendants, befides their wives and concubines, who, with their military equipage, their tents, and beds, and large veffels of gold and filver, added greatly to their magnificence and fplendour. In this manner, Xerxes and Darius conducted their famous expeditions and these things conftituted their glory, and the glory of the king of Affyria, here fignified, by the waters of the river, ftrong and many. The prodigious army of this haughty monarch, its great ftrength, its rapid march, and the terrible noife with which it was attended, are very fignificantly reprefented by the waters of the river Euphrates, efpecially when it overflowed its banks, running along with irrefiftible force and impetuofity. Thefe waters, figurative of the vaft armies of Affyria, God threatens to bring down like a mighty flood upon Judah and Ifrael, as a juft punishment for their aggravated fins, and particularly for their wicked contempt of his promises. 8 And he fhall pafs through Judah, he shall overflow and go over, he fhall reach even to the neck, and the stretching out of his wings fhall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel. The progrefs of that deftruction with which the Affyrians were to overflow the land of Judah is here *Prov. xiv. 28. marked. marked. The metaphorical language employed in the foregoing verfe is here continued, in which the Affyrians are ftill fpoken of as a river, which, having fwelled above its banks, pours its waters into the neighbouring plains. Having deluged the kingdom of Ephraim, they were next to spread defolation over the land of Judah, which was now in a low condition, Though it was to be preferved from total destruction, with which it was threatened, its inhabitants were nevertheless to find themfelves in very perilous cir cumstances, like a man who is near being drowned, when the waters reach to his neck. In this figurative defcription, the kingdom of Judah is compared to a human body; by whofe head the chief city of Jerufalem was intended, which, by the kind providence of God, was preferved in fafety from the threatened invafion, whilft the whole country befides was overrun by the enemy, and demolished. And the Stretching out of his wings, &c. The moft diftant parts of the vast Affyrian army, which, in the military style, are called wings, are threatened to extend over the whole land, and to occupy its entire breadth, reaching from the river Jordan to the Mediterranean fea. Our prophet, contemplating thefe direful events, converts the prediction into the form of a complaint, which he addreffes to Immanuel, the illuftrious Perfon whofe wonderful nativity he had foretold in the preceding chapter. Having his mind illuminated with the knowledge of this extraordinary character, who was at once to be the Son and Lord of David, the Son of God, the Saviour, and Guardian of his people, he invokes him to confider the forlorn condition of thofe whom he had appropriated to himfelf, as the objects of his gracious care and fpecial protection. Thou who art God with us, whofe land we poffefs, whose chofen city we inhabit, in whofe temple we worfhip, pity thy peculiar people in the depths of diftrefs, and afford us thy friendly aid, and feafonable deliverance, in the time of our extremity. God be our refuge · and |